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Public health risk of trace metals in fresh chicken meat products on the food markets of a major production region in southern China
- Source :
- Environmental Pollution. 234:667-676
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Because most chickens are reared in intensive farms, where a range of feed additives are used routinely, concerns have been raised on the potential public health risk of chicken product consumption. This study was conducted to characterize the contents of trace metals in fresh chicken tissues (354 samples) on the food markets in Guangdong province of southern China, a major region of chicken production with heavy per capita chicken consumption, and to assess the public health risk from chronic dietary exposure to the trace metals through chicken consumption. With the exception of Cr, Ni, and Pb, the contents of trace metals were generally higher in the chicken giblets (livers, gizzards, hearts, and kidneys) compared to muscles (breasts and drumsticks). Chicken tissues from the urban markets generally contained higher levels of As, Cu, Mn, and Zn than those from the rural markets, while the contents of Pb were typically higher in the chicken muscles from the rural markets. Results of statistical analyses indicate that Cu, Zn, and As in the chicken tissues derived mainly from the feeds, which is consistent with the widespread use of Cu, Zn, and phenylarsenic compounds as feed supplements/additives in intensive poultry farming. No non-carcinogenic risk is found with the consumption of fresh chicken meat products on the food markets, while approximately 70% of the adult population in Guangzhou and 30% of those in Lianzhou have bladder and lung cancer risk above the serious or priority level (10−4), which arises from the inorganic arsenic contained in the chicken tissues. These findings indicate that the occurrence of inorganic arsenic at elevated levels in chicken tissues on the food markets in Guangdong province poses a significant public health risk, thus the use of phenylarsenic feed additives in China's poultry farming should be significantly reduced and eventually phased out.
- Subjects :
- Adult
China
medicine.medical_specialty
Meat
animal structures
Inorganic arsenic
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Adult population
Food Contamination
010501 environmental sciences
Biology
Kidney
Toxicology
Risk Assessment
01 natural sciences
Arsenic
Selenium
Metals, Heavy
medicine
Animals
Humans
Trace metal
Gizzard
Food market
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
business.industry
Myocardium
Public health
0402 animal and dairy science
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
General Medicine
Poultry farming
Animal Feed
040201 dairy & animal science
Pollution
Liver
Southern china
Gizzard, Avian
embryonic structures
business
Chickens
Environmental Monitoring
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 02697491
- Volume :
- 234
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Environmental Pollution
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2f3b07014cb87475f5d7347478b1a118